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Using a large‐scale database of a major business services company, self‐reported usage volume data were compared with actual usage volume. Several business‐related factors were then examined in relation to the survey response bias. Survey response bias was found to be lower for clients that use the services more extensively, had been in business for a longer period of time, and have smaller number of employees. Survey response bias was also found to be lower when the level of involvement with the service (lower level of management in this study) was greater. Such response bias information would be useful for managers when making sales forecasts or market share estimations using survey responses.

Until now, in the absence of direct survey data, economists have had to rely on indirect methods that employ proxy indicators to evaluate the size of the shadow economy. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of the first direct survey of business perceptions of the magnitude of the shadow economy.

This paper reports the results of a UK survey of business perceptions about the prevalence of the shadow economy in their sector, namely the Small Business Service's 2004/2005 Small Business Survey of 7,505 small businesses.

Some 14 per cent of UK small businesses report that they are negatively affected by the shadow economy, with the average size of shadow work being estimated as 8 per cent of trade in their sector. The sectors identified as most affected by the shadow economy are land transport, construction, the motor vehicle trade, and hotels and restaurants, with new businesses and peripheral regions most affected.

This survey is based on business perceptions of its magnitude in their sector rather than first‐hand accounts of the amount of shadow work that businesses conduct.

These results display that it is wholly possible to conduct more direct surveys on the magnitude of the shadow economy so as to facilitate targeted public policy action.

This is the first direct survey in the advanced economies of business perceptions regarding the magnitude of the shadow economy.

The magnitude of the informal economy has been estimated using either indirect measurement methods that employ proxy indicators or small‐scale household surveys. This paper seeks to provide an analysis of the findings of the first direct survey in an advanced market economy of national business opinion on its magnitude and impacts.

This paper analyses the findings of a UK survey of business opinion on the prevalence of the informal economy in their sector and its impacts on their businesses, namely the Small Business Service's (SBS) 2004/05 Small Business Survey of 7,505 small businesses.

The finding is that 14 per cent of UK small businesses view themselves as negatively affected by the informal economy, with businesses estimating on average that 8 per cent of trade in their sector is conducted on an off‐the‐books basis. The sectors most affected by the informal economy are land transport, construction, the motor vehicle trade, and hotels and restaurants, with fledgling enterprises and businesses in peripheral regions most affected.

This survey records only business perceptions of the size of the informal economy in their sector rather than directly collecting data on the amount of informal work that businesses conduct.

This paper demonstrates that it is wholly feasible to conduct business surveys on the size and impacts of the informal economy and recommends modifications to the SBS survey method to improve data collection.

This paper reports the findings of the first survey in an advanced economy of national business opinion on the size and impacts of the informal economy.

The purpose of this manuscript is to quantify exactly how much information and/or predictive content is contained in business sentiment surveys.

This paper uses techniques drawn from information theory econometrics, and more specifically the theory of information entropy, to characterize the predictive content of business sentiment surveys. The authors apply these techniques to publicly available information obtained from various editions of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Empire State Manufacturing Survey, one of the most popular business sentiment surveys conducted in the USA. Parametric and non‐parametric statistical analyses are used to examine differences in the quantity of predictive content across various questions in the survey.

The results suggest that business sentiment surveys contain a reasonably high degree of informative content. However, the amount of informative content varies considerably from question to question in the survey. Questions that are more general in nature and ask about current perceptions (as opposed to future expectations) contain more informative content.

Business sentiment surveys are a practical, low‐cost method to assess the current and expected future state of local and regional economies. However, the value of these surveys is questionable if they do not contain much information. This research finds that such surveys do contain a large amount of information, and are worth administering. However, specific types of survey items convey more information that others, which also suggests that business sentiments surveys can be further revised to maximize the amount of content gained from respondents.

Recently, business process management (BPM) is among the most important managerial topics because it allows companies an agile adaptation to changing business requirements. Consultants and researchers are regularly proposing new methods and concepts based on BPM for further increasing the efficiency of corporate processes. However, from an empirical point of view it is crucial to determine the current status in practice and derive goals for research and technology transfer. This paper aims to address these issues.

For this reason the survey “Status Quto Business Process Management” is carried out in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland on a yearly basis. This survey aims at identifying current trends and strategic plans of companies as well as its realization in practice and highlights the remaining steps towards the process (‐focused) organization (PFO). The paper summarizes the results of the survey carried out in 2006 among 185 decision makers and shows a comparison with the results of the previous years as well as comparable surveys.

This paper analyzes the current state of BPM in the market, analyzes the strategic, organizational and technical aspects of BPM in the participating companies. The survey shows that although the majority of the participating companies are involved with BPM initiatives, only a very small number of companies follows holistic approaches and has reached the status of a PFO.

As the survey especially focused on IT‐driven companies a limitation of this survey could be seen in the fact that it does not exactly cover the branch distribution of the population, e.g. the financial sector is over‐represented due to the fact that the survey included branch specific questions for the financial sector (note that these questions are not part of this paper). However, the comparison with the surveys “BP Report” and “State of BPM” shows that these surveys come with similar distributions of the branches.

This paper provides a very useful source for companies in benchmarking their status regarding BPM. It provides them with information that allows to compare their status on the way towards a PFO with their competitors.

This paper provides a very useful source for companies in benchmarking their status regarding BPM. The survey does not only investigate what is being done by the participating companies but also interested in the reasons why it is done. Compared to existing surveys it: investigates connections between processes and business strategy, process risk handling, references models, as well as methods for evaluating the contributions of IT to the business processes; uses statistical methods for measuring the significance of the results and; has a specific focus on companies in the Germany‐speaking countries Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

This paper aims to explore perceptions of the recession and recovery by SMEs in Lincolnshire and Rutland. The paper seeks to examine the relationship between businesses' perceptions of the economy and their growth ambitions.

The results were generated from a bi‐monthly online survey of SMEs. The survey includes two years of data from July 2010 to May 2012, spanning periods of recovery and recession. The survey comprises a number of Likert‐scale questions which have been tracked throughout the period.

The findings suggest a separation of how businesses perceive wider economic conditions, and their role and performance within the economy. Views on trading conditions and public sector cuts are identified as a more important determinant of business behaviour than views on the economy overall.

The findings are based on research undertaken with SMEs in a specific geographical area of England and, as such, there is limited scope for generalisation beyond this area. Further research could compare the responses of SMEs in this predominantly rural area with metropolitan areas, for example.

The paper highlights the importance of revenue sourced from the public sector for SMEs in peripheral areas. Policy implications include the need to support SMEs in identifying alternative sources of revenue and/or new business models in the face of reducing public sector expenditure.

The paper presents an innovative approach for analysing SME perceptions, the findings of which have informed a business support programme run by the University of Lincoln, and used as a benchmarking tool by participating SMEs.

The purpose of the paper is to assess the state of the business development services (BDS) market in Chengdu, with a view to identifying demand and/or supply side deficiencies, which public policy might help to address.

The data are drawn from two surveys undertaken in Chengdu between November 2005 and January 2006.

The research shows there are small firms that are active users of BDS, reflecting the emergence of non‐state owned enterprises in the city. The survey also shows evidence of unfulfilled latent demand, with a particular reference to sales and marketing advice and helping firms to access sources of finance. In addition, the survey of BDS providers shows that some are sensitive to the needs of small firms, although the latter are typically under‐represented in their client base.

The findings suggest that the BDS market in Chengdu is underdeveloped from a small business perspective, which can be illustrated by pointing to both demand‐ and supply‐side deficiencies. It can be argued that this is an important policy issue, if small enterprises are to fulfil their potential contribution to local economic development, particularly in relation to the development of non‐local sales.

This research adopts an “evidence‐based” approach to inform policy development.

The strategic management literature emphasizes the concept of business intelligence (BI) as an essential competitive tool. Yet the sustainability of the firms’ competitive advantage provided by BI capability is not well researched. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for successful BI deployment and empirically examines the association between BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage. Taking the telecommunications industry in Malaysia as a case example, the research particularly focuses on the influencing perceptions held by telecommunications decision makers and executives on factors that impact successful BI deployment. The research further investigates the relationship between successful BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage of the telecommunications organizations. Another important aim of this study is to determine the effect of moderating factors such as organization culture, business strategy, and use of BI tools on BI deployment and the sustainability of firm’s competitive advantage.

This research uses combination of resource-based theory and diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory to examine BI success and its relationship with firm’s sustainability. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and a two-phase sequential mixed method consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches are employed. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. The chapter presents a qualitative field study to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. The study includes a survey study with sample of business analysts and decision makers in telecommunications firms and is analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling.

The findings reveal that some internal resources of the organizations such as BI governance and the perceptions of BI’s characteristics influence the successful deployment of BI. Organizations that practice good BI governance with strong moral and financial support from upper management have an opportunity to realize the dream of having successful BI initiatives in place. The scope of BI governance includes providing sufficient support and commitment in BI funding and implementation, laying out proper BI infrastructure and staffing and establishing a corporate-wide policy and procedures regarding BI. The perceptions about the characteristics of BI such as its relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, and observability are also significant in ensuring BI success. The most important results of this study indicated that with BI successfully deployed, executives would use the knowledge provided for their necessary actions in sustaining the organizations’ competitive advantage in terms of economics, social, and environmental issues.

This study contributes significantly to the existing literature that will assist future BI researchers especially in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. In particular, the model will help practitioners to consider the resources that they are likely to consider when deploying BI. Finally, the applications of this study can be extended through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

This chapter reports the results of an empirical study on the “gender–performance gap,” the alleged difference in business performance between firms started or owned by females and males. Although numerous studies have compared the business performance of firms started by or owned by female and male entrepreneurs, most research to date has employed financial performance metrics and has often produced inconsistent results. The present research compared gender-based business performance by examining self-perceptions of a large sample of female and male Black and Mexican-American entrepreneurs. As such, the present study overcame several limitations of prior gender–performance gap research and addressed entrepreneurial groups seldom studied. While there were no perceptual differences between female and male entrepreneurs surveyed regarding the performance of their respective businesses, Mexican-American entrepreneurs surveyed perceived the performance of their business as being better than Black entrepreneurs surveyed, and this result held for both females and males. Findings from the study provide insights into the perceptions held by Black and Mexican-American female and male entrepreneurs and provide a context for further race and gender studies.